At around 8:00 a.m., molten glass began spilling while maintenance was being carried out on the refractory of a furnace of a glass plant. The maintenance works were necessary to fill a 900 cm² hole caused when one of the furnace’s refractory bricks ruptured. The plant’s firefighters shut off the furnace’s power supplies and waited for emergency services to arrive. The rest of the plant continued to run normally. Using two hoses, firefighters cooled down the furnace and then left at around 2:00 p.m. The leak was sealed and the furnace was repaired.

An estimated 84 t (33.5 m³) of molten glass leaked out onto the floor. Six people were slightly injured by the molten glass and 30 people at the site were sickened by the fumes. The molten glass flowed under the furnace’s retention, damaging the electrical and control wiring. Operating losses were estimated at €700,000 and material damage at €320,000.

The firewater/cooling water was discharged to the storm water system and then to the river Bresle. No environmental impacts were reported. An outside laboratory tested the discharged water to determine its impact on the natural environment. The authorities requested that the restarting of the unit be conditional on the delivery and review of an accident report.

The operator gave two possible explanations for the spill:

• manufacturing defect of a refractory brick (product defect);
• accidental cracking of a brick during the assembly of the furnace.

After a visit to the site, the inspection authorities for classified facilities asked the operator to:

• Introduce operating instructions (closing of the discharge valves and supervision of refractory replacement operations);
• Display the isolation system that separates the plant’s stormwater network from the natural environment and make it more accessible;
• Replace the furnace’s retention with one that can contain the volume of glass inside the furnace.